


How Soon Is Now

by stylesforstiles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-08
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 14:35:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/675477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylesforstiles/pseuds/stylesforstiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its Harry Styles birthday and everything goes terribly wrong</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nick Grimshaw is in love with Harry Styles.

He knows very much that he shouldn’t be, but here he was on day two of Harry’s birthday celebrations carrying a very intoxicated Harry up the stairs to his flat. He was quite a playful drunk, actively trying to escape his arms, and once they finally managed to get through the front door, Harry ran away, giggling like a child on Christmas morning. Nick wondered why he thought it necessary to put himself through not one, but two nights of this. He was a very sick man indeed.

He found Harry lying face down on his bed. He stood in the doorway battling with his conscience. He knew that he should call Louis to come and get him, or at least let him know that he was at Nick's. But he didn't. He wanted to be selfish and have this moment with Harry, even if he doesn't remember it in the morning. He found himself moving over to the bed, placing himself near the foot of it. He wasn't too close, but he could still lean over and run his fingers through his hair if he wanted to. He started to reach out his fingers just as Harry came to life, flipping himself over. He pulled his hand away quickly, but Harry caught it with his, lacing their fingers together. He had a faint smile on his lips, his eyelids fluttering away. It caught him off guard. He took a deep breath and asked the one question he really didn’t want to.

“Harry…did you want me to call Louis?”

The smile left his face and was replaced with sad look. “He's mad at me,” he pulled his hand away to pick absently at the comforter. “He went to Andy’s party.”

Nick didn't know how to process this information. Again, he let the rational part of his brain speak for him. “Harry, I’m sure if I called him he would come.”

Harry’s face crumpled. “He said he’d never let me sleep alone, Nick. Even when we fight, he always comes to bed. Is he going to come to bed?” Harry looked at him with panicked, glassy eyes. Nick thought his heart may have stopped for a moment.

“He hasn’t answered any of my messages all night, and it’s my birthday...” Harry was holding onto his sweater desperately. He had never wanted to punch Louis Tomlinson more than in this moment. And he wanted to punch him a lot, so this was saying something.

He rubbed his arm and made soothing noises, though he wasn’t sure which one of them they were for. “Hey, I promise I will sort this out. I’ll be right back, okay?”

He nodded and curled up into his pillow, turning his back away from him. Nick grabbed his phone and brought the only person up who actually understood his pain. He didn’t wait for him to say hello.

“Zayn, I need you.”

“It’s a little late for a heart to heart,”

“Yeah well, I wouldn’t have to had to call if it wasn’t for that prick of a friend of yours, Louis.”

He could almost hear Zayn rubbing his face. “What now?”

“For starters, that little shit went to Andy fucking Samuel’s birthday tonight instead of his own boyfriends, and now I have a very drunk and very emotional Harry in my bed on the verge of tears,”

Zayn snorted. “In your bed, hey? You didn’t think to take him home?”

“Fuck off. Either way we would be in this position. What do I do?”

“Shit, none of them are going to be able to hear their phones in that stupid club. One of us needs to go there and haul Louis out.”

“I think it’s better if it’s you, to be fair.”

“Argh, for fucks sake. _Fine_. But you owe me, man.”

Nick smirked. “We can figure out payment later I’m sure. Plus, you can’t be that hurt, love, Liam’s there after all.”

He suddenly heard the dial tone and shrugged, returning to the room to see Harry’s shoulders shaking. He felt the pain of what he was sure a knife in the heart. He approached the bed wondering if he should sit down next to him, or crouch in front of him or simply just stay where he was. He also wondered when he started analyzing how he should act around Harry so often. He was in way too deep. Thankfully he turned over again, his eyes bright and hopeful.

“Did you talk to him?”

He finally decided to sit on the bed, leaning his back against the head board. He figured he was going to be here for a while. He might as well be comfortable.

“Zayn’s going to get him.”

Harry nodded and shuffled to get closer, resting his head on Nicks shoulder. He sighed inwardly.

“Didn’t know you talked to, Zayn,” Harry mumbled into his shoulder

Nick pondered how to brush this question off. “Well, everyone else is at the party, so he was the most logical. D’you mind if I put on some music?”

“Hmm…y’okay.”

Nick stretched over to fiddle with his Ipod, finding the appropriate list for this moment. It was, after all, his angsty 'I have too many feelings about Harry' playlist that he usually only listened to when he was wallowing in self-pity and white wine. He adjusted himself back on the pillows and closed his eyes as the Smiths softly played from the speakers.

He thought about the first time Zayn showed up on his door step completely out of the blue. He remembered opening his door, his face twisting in surprise.

“Zayn?” Nick stared at him, taking in his current state. He stood there in the rain, his hair matted against his forehead, his sweater plastered on his skin, a full bottle of whiskey in his hands.

“Yeah, hey,”

“Are you looking for Harry?”

He shuffled awkwardly. “Um, not exactly. I was looking for you.”

“Oh,” He was a little taken aback, but certainly couldn’t leave him here to drown on his doorstep. “Well alright, come on out of the rain already, you’re soaked.”

He trudged up the steps and stood dripping on the mat as Nick ran to grab him a towel.

He came back, placing it on his shoulders and stepped away again, unsure of what to say. Zayn pulled the towel closer around him and twisted the cap off the bottle, taking a long pull of whiskey. Nick watched him, his eyebrows rising with each bob of his adam’s apple. He finally let go, his breath shaking.

“I’m in love with Liam.”

Nick scratched his head. “Well fuck,”

Zayn just kind of nodded, taking another pull of the bottle. “And, you know…since you’re in love with Harry, I thought…”

“ _What?!_ "

Zayn whipped his head up a little too fast, causing him to sway on his feet. “You’re kidding right? It's more than obvious, Nick.”

Nick turned around and sat on his bottom step, his face blankly staring at the floor. He felt movement beside him as Zayn passed him the bottle. He grabbed it and felt the burn of the alcohol down his throat, hoping it would erase everything he felt for Harry Styles. Unfortunately it didn’t, but he drank enough to cause his brain to fog up slightly and his tongue to loosen.

“And here I thought I was being so discreet,”

Zayn layed a hand on his shoulder. “Ah, you were, man. I’m just hyper aware because I’m in the same sad state as you.”

“Hmm. So, Liam, hey? You couldn’t have picked a harder conquest, my friend.”

Zayn’s shoulders started to sag as he skimmed the bottle along the floor. “’Fraid I’d have to say the same about Harry. You know how much he loves Louis. I don’t think he sees anything else half the time.”

Nick rubbed his hands over his face, resisting the urge to rip his skin off entirely. “God, we’re a pathetic lot.”

“That we are, and thanks for listening. Cheers.”

Nick slung an arm over his shoulders, taking the bottle once more.“Anytime. Us mopey sods have to stick together, you know. You also brought booze, how could I possibly turn you away?”

He thought he caught a small smile tug at the sides of Zayn's lips.

So, over the past year and a bit it had become their little secret. They would drink together, whine together, hell there had even been a few tears. And then somewhere along the way the comforting transitioned from drinking together into sleeping together. They never spoke about it; there was just an unwritten rule that if either of them showed up at their doorsteps they would let the other in no questions. Sometimes they didn’t even talk to each other, they just nodded and closed the door. Was it fucked up? Yes probably, and on so many levels. But it eased the pain briefly knowing that Nick wasn’t the only one lying awake at night thinking about something he could never have.

He turned his head to see Harry softy murmuring in his sleep. He pretended he didn’t hear the name Lou cross those perfect pink lips. And he wondered if Zayn was doing any better.

 ...

Louis paced back and forth, every fiber of his being filled with pure agitation. He needed more alcohol. He grabbed a bottle of champagne that was sitting on the table in front of him, not even bothering with a glass this time. Liam looked at him with concern and he turned away from him focusing his eyes on the dance floor. He waited for the inevitable hand that was bound to drop on his shoulder. He counted backwards in his head. 3…2…1…and there it was.

“Piss off, Liam.”

“Excuse me, this is _my_ friend’s party that you’re acting like a complete twat at. I don’t even know why you’re here to be honest,” He paused “Oh _right_ , because you’re a complete twat. Can’t you at least call him and tell him you’re sorry?”

Louis spun around on him. “Why the fuck should I be the one apologizing?” He stabbed his finger into Liam’s chest, spilling drops of champagne on him as continued. “He’s been out with him for two nights; _two_  fucking nights, Liam!”

Liam pulled the bottle from his hands. “You could have gone too, Louis, both nights. No one was stopping you.”

He glared at him. “You’re telling me that I should have gone to _my_ boyfriend’s birthday that was thrown for him by another man, who’s obviously fucking in love with him, and watch him fawn all over him all night? Sorry, but that's fucked."

Liam’s eyes softened. “You know Harry wouldn’t do that,”

“I wasn’t talking about Harry, I was talking about that stupid prick, Nick Grimshaw.”

“Louis, why do you even care? You know that Harry loves you. For gods sake, everybody knows that Harry loves you!”

“Because, I shouldn’t have to put up with it! He’s so fucking blatant about it.” Louis stumbled towards the couch, raking a hand through his hair.

Liam sat next to him, his hand on his knee. “Why don’t you just talk to him about it? Nick, that is. That’s what adults do in these situations.”

Louis wanted to shout at him 'that's rich because you’re almost doing the exact same thing to Zayn' but it really wasn’t fair to bring him down too right now. God, they were all so fucked up. Everyone except Harry. Because Harry saw the good in people and wanted everyone to get along. Harry, who didn’t have a single spiteful bone in his body.  Harry, the beautiful soul who phoned Andy to wish him happy birthday, even though he was upset about him having his party on the same day as his, but wouldn’t dare show it. Because Harry was a _good_ fucking person. And the rest of them were not. Cause in reality, weren’t they all fucking each other over in some way?

He leaned back against the couch with his eyes closed. Fuck. He should probably just go home. He didn’t really know why he was doing this either. He just wanted to prove a point. And the only one that he was making was that he was a massive dickhead who left the love of his life alone on his birthday. He cringed. His ears suddenly perked up when he heard a familiar voice. And then felt sharp pain in his shin as someone booted him.

“Oi. You need to get your fucking arse out of this club and back home to Harry, you stupid fuck,”

Louis found himself looking into the eyes of an extremely annoyed Zayn. He looked at Liam who seemed equally as confused as him, not to mention suddenly nervous.

He rubbed his leg, spitting out his words. “What are you doing here? You don’t come to parties,”

Zayn clenched his jaw. “You think I would come to this club, let alone that fucking douche bag Andy’s party?” Zayn watched Liam, seeing his eyes dart away, trying to look at anyone but him. He rounded back on Louis. “I wouldn’t even _be_ here if it weren’t for you being a complete fucking dick to Harry."

Louis bolted up. “What? Did he call you?”

“Does it matter, Louis? Do you even care? When did you become so heartless?” Zayn was cursing himself for coming here now. He didn’t even know if he was throwing these words at Louis anymore, or if some of them were actually intended for Liam.

Louis reached out towards him, wary of placing a hand on his arm. “Is he okay, Zayn?”

He tore his arm away, anger flaring up again. “No, he’s not fucking okay, Louis. Do you think he wants to be at someone else’s house right now while I go out searching for you?”

Louis’ eyes quickly narrowed. “Exactly whose house is he at,"

“You fucking know, Louis, don’t play dumb with me.”

He clamored up, looking in between Liam and Zayn; grabbing the champagne bottle once more. “We’re done here.”

Liam reached out to pull on his sleeve as he strode by, his voice weak. “Louis…”

Zayn glowered at his back, grasping Liam’s hand as it fell. His heart clenched at the simple touch. “Just let him go. I’m not leaving here without him, Liam. I won’t do this to Harry.” His eyes flashed almost black. Liam swallowed hard. “Harry doesn’t deserve to feel like the rest of us do.”

Zayn turned on his heel, grabbing a half-finished bottle of god knows what, needing to be anywhere but around Liam.

This was quickly turning into the night from hell

 


	2. Chapter 2

Louis felt the cool tile against his skin as he started to come to. He blinked his eyes a few times adjusting to the light, immediately closing them again when the room started to spin around him. He lay there for a moment, noticing the stark quiet that enveloped him. Where was he? He thought he was still at the club, but he really couldn’t be sure. He pinched his nose. Think Louis. He conjured up Zayn’s face, remembering that he had been yelling at him about something. Right…Harry. He remembered storming off with a champagne bottle shortly after. He remembered bumping into Andy and him suggesting that Louis try something to take the edge off. He had placed a pill on the tip of his tongue, and Louis swallowed because he wanted to forget. He could see an image of Andy’s smirking face; felt the ghost of his hands as he pressed against him on the dance floor, his hot breath in Louis’ ear when he asked if he wanted to go somewhere more private. Louis snapped his eyes open, feeling the icy trickle of fear in his heart.

His head pounded as he attempted to sit up. He failed, slumping back against a wall. He felt around his body, doing inventory to make sure he had clothes on. When his hands met his bare chest, he started to panic. What. The. Fuck. His heart was beating a mile a minute. He still had his jeans on, but that didn’t make him feel any less frantic as he fished around his pocket for his phone. He squinted at the time. 3:45 am. Oh god. He saw a frightening amount of missed calls and messages from Zayn. He dialed his number, rolling around to look at his surroundings again. Zayn’s voice finally barked in his ear.

“Where the _fuck_ are you, Louis?”

“Zayn…I’m not…I don’t know what happened…. I’m scared,” his voice cracked out.

He could hear Liam in the background asking if he was okay. Zayn swore under his breath. “Louis, do you know where you are?”

He let out a shaky breath. “No.”

He heard muffled noises, followed by Zayn giving Liam some kind of instructions. “Use the GPS tracker… It’s an app… Fuck, hurry up,” followed by more shuffling noises. The line went eerily quiet before he heard Liam speak again. “That’s Andy’s address…”

Louis almost dropped his phone. He felt a bead of sweat form on his face, sliding slowly down his cheek.

Zayn started mouthing off obscenities, snapping Louis’ attention back. “I swear to god, I am going to fucking _kill_ that son of a bitch when I get my hands on him…”

Louis urged himself to stand up, his legs trembling weakly. He looked around again, finally seeing that he was in a bathroom. He stumbled to the sink, hungrily throwing water down his throat. Zayn and Liam continued to bicker on the other line while he examined himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, his complexion a sickly white; a harsh contrast the deep blue of his eyes. His hair was sticking out every which way and finally he gasped when he saw the purple bruises forming along his chest and collarbones. He prodded at them gently, a sick feeling pooling in his gut. Zayn’s worried voice brought him out of the trance he was in.

“Louis??? Lou, you still there?”

“Someone please come get me,” he whispered.

“We’re coming right now, stay there.”

Louis found himself nodding as he hung up the phone. His back slid down the wall as he sat down once more, huddling his knees up to his chest. He touched his forehead to them, rocking his heels back and forth trying to remember how he got here. He picked up his phone again, hovering his finger over Harry’s number. He swallowed hard. He really needed Harry. But what was he going to say? What was he supposed to tell him? He wanted to cry, but he knew he didn’t deserve it. He got himself into this mess because he was being a jealous twat, and now he didn’t know how he was going to get himself out of it. He backed out of his contacts and instead scrolled through his phone looking for a song to calm his nerves while he waited. He subconsciously picked a song that Harry had put on for him and let it surround him; imagining being safe in Harry’s arms once more.

 ...

Liam darted his eyes back and forth between Zayn and the empty street in front him, trying to gauge his mood. He was racking his brain for what he should say, but nothing seemed right. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Zayn talking on the phone.

“Hey…yeah, we found him. Is Harry okay?”

Liam strained to listen and tried not to notice the shifty look Zayn gave him before turning his head away, using his hand to cover the phone. “Yeah, yeah…yes, I’ll stay…just.. I’ll see you in a bit. If Harry wakes up just tell him we’re on the way.” He hung up and swung his eyes over to Liam. “What?”

Liam swallowed, gripping his hand on the steering wheel. “What was that all about?”

“Not sure what you mean,” Zayn looked indifferent as he pulled a smoke out of his pocket, placing it on his lips. “D’ya mind?”

Liam didn’t bother answering because he knew Zayn would do it anyways. Instead he pressed on with his first question. “The phone call. Since when are you so close to Nick?”

“S’not really any of your business,”

Liam let out an exasperated breath. “Jesus Zayn, I’m just asking. I didn’t realize you were friends is all.”

“I don’t know why you care.”

“God, you are so frustrating!”

Zayn watched as Liam’s lips formed a thin line, his back ram rod straight as he dropped the conversation, pulling his full attention to the road, even though the streets were like a ghost town. Zayn felt a smidgen of satisfaction knowing that he had successfully pissed him off. He flicked ash out the window wondering if he should feel a bit bad. It’s not Liam’s fault that Zayn hasn’t told him how he feels about him, but he wishes he would just fucking notice already. How can he not see? He was in a constant struggle with himself, wanting to shake Liam, kiss him senseless, and make him _feel_ how much he loves him. But the larger part of him pushed him away, wanting him to realize on his own that he could love Zayn just as much as he loved him. As he stared out his own window, he wondered how much longer he could continue to play this sick game.

 ...

Zayn’s phone call had woken Harry up, his face scrunched in confusion as he looked at Nick. He settled back down again after a moment, like he was remembering how he ended up there. He rubbed a hand over his face, pushing his hair out of the way before he met Nick’s eyes. Nick wanted to pull him close and tell him everything would be okay, because he was sufficiently concerned after Zayn briefly filled him in on where Louis was over text message. Nick had assumed he didn’t want to talk about it in from of Liam, seeing as the words 'fucking douche twat' were pretty much the only ones he used to explain the situation.

Harry smiled faintly. “Well, this is definitely not _my_ bed.”

Nick felt his heart skip. “You were just a little bit intoxicated, love. Just a little. Thought this might be easier. How are you feeling now?”

He shrugged, pushing himself up on his elbows, shuffling to sit back against the headboard. “Still feel kind of drunk, but got a little more wits about me, thanks.” His face formed a frown as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He held it in his hand staring at it, as if willing it to ring.

Nick gently placed his hand Harry’s arm. “Hey, he’s on his way,”

Harry looked up surprised. “He is?”

“Yeah, Zayn and Liam are on their way to pick him up and bring him here.”

Harry seemed confused by this. “Why are they picking him up? I thought he was with Liam?”

Shit. Nick hadn’t meant to say that. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. He mentally slapped himself, and wondered in the back of his mind if he hadn’t just done that on purpose.

“Uh….”

“Nick, what happened?”

“Harry, he’s fine, they’ll be here soon.”

“Nick, seriously. Just tell me.” Harry looked at him with those pleading eyes again, fear lining those beautiful green irises.

He sighed, rolling off the bed to stand up. He needed to kick something, someone. Mostly Louis. “I don’t really know. Louis got kind of fucked up,”

Harry scrambled off the bed now too. “What? You just told me he was fine!”

Nick crossed the room to touch him, comfort him; make him understand that he was sorry for keeping a secret, but Harry was already on his phone, pulling his body away from him.

“Come, come on, pick up…Louis? Louis…Lou!”

Nick turned and walked out of the room, wondering if he should make himself a drink.

 ...

Louis saw Harry’s number flash on his phone and he really wanted to pick it up, he did. Louis wanted to hear the soft, husky tone of his voice, for him to say I love you and tell Louis that everything was going to be okay. He pressed his eyes closed, his finger hitting answer just as the door flew open. He could hear Harry frantically saying his name on the other end, but he quickly ended the call so he could throw himself into Zayn’s arms.

His shoulders shook, but thankfully no tears came out as he hung onto him desperately. “Zayn…what have I done?”

Zayn pulled Louis against him fiercely, trying to calm him down. “Its fine, we’ve got you. We’re going to take you home to Harry now,”

He just nodded, feeling the warmth of Zayn’s jacket wrap around his shoulders. He pulled his arms into it, buttoning up the front, hoping Zayn didn’t notice the marks on his chest.

Zayn tucked him under his arm as he walked him out of the bathroom. Louis stopped in his tracks once they reached the living room, finding a smug looking Andy and a very stressed out Liam.

Louis’ mouth dropped open. Andy just smirked, as he leaned against a wall watching Louis with interest. He felt Zayn’s body stiffen next to him.

“I’d wipe that look off your face right now if I were you,”

Andy shrugged as if bored. “What? I didn’t touch your friend. I mean I did, but it’s not my fault he got all freaked out and locked himself in the bathroom,” He looked Louis dead in the eyes. “Just wanted a little taste so I could see how he got that twink boyfriend of his so whipped.”

After that, everything happened in a flash – Zayn punching Andy so hard his head cracked against the wall, Liam desperately trying to pull him off as he threw more punches, and Louis watching the scene in complete horror.

Liam finally managed to haul Zayn off, pulling him flush against his chest. Zayn pushed away from him, anger vibrating off his body. He stalked over to Louis, grabbing his arm as he pointed to Liam. “He even looks at Louis or Harry again I’m going to break his fucking neck,” Liam just nodded in stunned disbelief. “Gimme your keys, I’ll bring your car round in the morning.” Liam continued nodding as he silently walked over to pass Zayn his keys. He stood there staring at the ground as Zayn tugged Louis along with him, slamming the door on his way out.

Once he had Louis in the car he paused for a moment, turning his body towards him. Louis watched his hands, focusing on his bruised knuckles as they undid the first few buttons on his coat. Zayn sucked in a breath, his eyes flashing black with rage. Louis wrapped a hand around Zayn’s. “It’s okay, Zayn…I fucked up. I know that.” Louis' voice was thick with tears.

Zayn buttoned the jacket back up, dropping his hands to Louis shoulders searching his eyes. “This isn’t your fault, you didn’t asked to be drugged for Christ sake.”

Louis lowered his eyes. “But I did. I took it willingly. All of this happened because I was so fucking _stupid_ and _jealous,_ and what am I supposed to tell Harry now?”

Zayn pulled his chin up, making him look at him again. “You’ll tell him the truth, Louis. _Nothing_ happened.”

“But I don’t fucking know that, I don’t remember! All I have is these ugly bruises, and Harry is going to see them! I just…maybe he is better off with Nick than a fuck up like me,” he said glumly. 

“Louis, for fucks sake, when are you going to get it through that idiot skull of yours that Harry _loves_ you. Jesus Christ man, what _else_ can we do to make you see it? Don’t you realize how fucking lucky you are?”

They were both on the edge of hysteria, their breathing heavy and loud in the silent car.

When Zayn finally spoke again his voice came out soft and quiet. “Don’t you know how much I wish Liam would look at me the way Harry looks at you,”

Louis felt like his heart might break. He didn’t realize the amount pain his friend was in until he heard it in his voice just now. How could they all be so god damn blind?

“Please don’t fuck this up because you’re insecure about Nick Grimshaw. Trust me, he knows the same as anyone that Harry would never leave you.”

Louis looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “How do you know so much about Nick anyways?”

Zayn cleared his throat, starting the car up. “We’ve been friends for a while."

“Why?”

Zayn looked at him sideways. “Why what?”

“I mean, why are you friends? You don’t really have anything in common,”

“You’d actually be surprised.”

Even though his brain was hazy at the moment, Louis felt the puzzle pieces start to connect.

“Zayn... are you…are you _with_ Nick?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed.

“I hardly think I am.”

“I don’t really want to talk about this, Louis. Because there’s nothing to talk about.” Zayn was hoping he’d drop it after that. He didn’t want to share that part of his life with his friends. Because it was something that was only meant for him and Nick. Suddenly he was exhausted, mentally and physically. He could feel it all the way in his bones. He just wanted to lie in Nick’s bed and feel the comforting weight of his arms around him and forget that this whole night never happened.

 ...

When they pulled up to his flat, Zayn turned in his seat to look at Louis. “Tell Harry what happened. The _whole_ story. And don’t be a prick to Nick for once, okay?"

He nodded, his whole being a jumble of nerves as he trudged up the steps, pausing behind Zayn at the front door. Zayn opened it, and Louis was almost positive he saw him pull out a key to do so. He filed that away for later. If anyone knew what was going on here, it would be Harry. He’d have to remember to ask him. That was if he ever spoke to Louis again.

Zayn called out as he entered the front hall. “Nick?”

He emerged from the kitchen, one hand in his jean pocket, the other around a glass of whiskey. His eyes widened when he saw the two of them. He turned to place his glass on a table, slamming it a little harder than he meant to.

“What the fuck happened to you guys?”

He paused in front of Zayn, picking up his hand to turn it around and examine it. He brushed his thumb across his bruised knuckles, not noticing Louis’ eyes watching the exchange.

Nick finally let out a breath, Zayn’s hand still in his. “What in the hell….”

“Louis?”

They all turned towards the stairs, where Harry was paused halfway down apprehensively; looking at Louis like he didn’t quite know what to do.

“Hey babe,” Louis pulled on the back of his neck, massaging it absently and trying his best not to look guilty.

And that was all Harry needed to hear. He flew down the rest of the stairs, throwing his arms around Louis’ neck, squeezing him so tight he thought he might faint.

“Harry…” Louis didn’t know what else to say. The words were lost in his mouth. He noticed that Nick and Zayn had shuffled off to the side, watching them expectantly, Zayn urging him with his eyes. He nodded. “I’m sorry, Harry. I’m so sorry I fucked up your birthday.” He stroked his cheek, searching Harry’s eyes. “I love you, okay?”

Harry nodded, his eyes closed, clinging to Louis. “I’ll call us a cab.” Harry shook his head in agreement, not letting go of Louis. He curled into his chest, as Louis glanced over his shoulder at Nick. “Thanks for taking care of him."" 

Nick picked up his glass once more. "Sure,” before turning to Zayn. “Drink?" 

Zayn nodded. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Nick turned away, disappearing down the hall.

Zayn walked over to Harry, who seemed to have retreated into Louis body, holding onto him like he would somehow evaporate any moment. He ran a hand gently down his back, glancing at Louis more time as if to say 'make this right'

They heard the honk of a horn outside and Louis whispered softly, running a hand through Harry’s curls. “Time to go, love.”

Harry finally opened his eyes again, remembering something. “Wait, I forgot my present! The camera, Lou...”

Zayn interrupted, “I’ll run it by tomorrow mate, go get some rest.”

Louis shot him a silent thank you and ushered them out the door, his arms never falling from Harry’s shoulders.

And once again, Zayn and Nick were left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh angsty boys!!! Hopefully you liked it, I thought it was kind of amusing to bring Andy into the story haha
> 
> I hope to update again someday next week xoxo


	3. Chapter 3

Zayn layed in Nick’s bed staring up at the ceiling. He was restless, yet he couldn’t seem to move. His mind was running a mile a minute going over the events from the night before, when he suddenly remembered he had Liam’s car to deal with. He mulled it over, thinking that for once in his life he really didn’t _want_ to see him. He was still so angry about Andy; the fact Liam could even be friends with such a fucking douche bag had gotten under his skin. He rolled over on his side to look at Nick, who apparently wasn’t having much luck with sleeping either. Nick propped himself sideways as well, taking in Zayn’s features, absently running a finger over one of the tattoos on his collarbone. They weren’t usually affectionate with each other, but Zayn really didn’t feel like questioning it at the moment.

Zayn leaned over, brushing his lips against Nick’s, feather light at first. He relaxed into it, growing bold as drew his tongue along his bottom lip, before on it sucking gently. Nick seemed surprised by this, pulling back a bit. “Hello there,”

Zayn found himself blushing, moving his eyes downward so he could pretend to be interested in the pattern on the sheets. “Hey.”

“No need to be shy, Zayn. I have seen you naked, remember.” He could hear the grin in Nick’s voice.

He didn’t really know why he was being so hesitant, this obviously wasn’t new territory for them. They had crashed into bed shortly after Louis and Harry left, shutting their eyes as soon as their heads hit the pillows. However, the sleep was short lived seeing as they were both wide awake now just a few hours later. Zayn had been lying there thinking about how he just wanted to feel something, _anything_ , some sort of affection, but that wasn’t really their thing. They fucked each other because it was convenient, not because they had feelings for each other. Not romantic ones anyways. And the way he was feeling right now, well what they were doing seemed to be headed down a strange path. He should probably just leave. He mentally made this decision, tossing the sheets aside, swinging his legs to get out.

Nick grabbed his arm, pulling him back down, his brows furrowed in question, “Where are you going?”

He fell back into bed, laughing as he bounced on the mattress. “I should probably go.”

"Why? It’s early yet,”

Zayn scratched a finger on his leg as he thought about what was going to come out his mouth next. He searched his eyes questioningly. “What are we, Nick?”

“It’s a bit early for philosophy, dear,"

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. What are we doing here?”

Nick grasped his hand, pulling him back down on the bed completely. He settled into the pillow as they faced each other, Nick stroking up his arm. “I thought we didn’t talk about this?”

“I know… it’s just…Louis asked if we were together,”

Nick leaned back surprised. “And, what did you tell him?”

“That I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“But, you do now?”

“I don’t know,” Zayn averted his eyes once more.

Nick chuckled. “I’m feeling a bit like a dentist here, love. You're going to have to help me out.”

Zayn bit his lip, facing him again. “Don’t you ever get tired of being alone?”

Nick pulled him closer. "I thought that’s why you’re here,”

Zayn sighed, rolling onto his back. Nick leaned over him, curling an arm around his waist as he placed a kiss on his neck. He kept going, trailing a line of kisses along his warm skin until he reached his ear. “What is it that you need, Zayn?”

He closed his eyes, shivering under Nicks touch. “I…” but he couldn’t say it. He couldn’t say that he wanted to feel close to someone, that he wanted to feel loved, even if it was a lie. So, he buried his face in his neck, letting his hands slide under Nick’s shirt, and wondered if he was thinking about Harry when he touched him.

 ...

Louis shifted in the bed and felt Harry’s hand start to slip away from his side. He grabbed it again quickly, not wanting to lose the contact. He linked their fingers, huddling his body closer so Harry was almost enveloping him. He may have been younger in age, but the sheer size of him sometimes startled Louis. He was tall and lanky, with these over sized hands and feet (and heart), and a seemingly never ending torso. He was quite a contrast to Louis, who was small and sturdy and had much more delicate features. He looked down at their intertwined fingers, his faded tanned skin against Harry’s creamy white, and felt a small prick of panic grow in his stomach. They had been so exhausted when they got home that they went straight to bed. He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Harry what happened to him. His mind started to wander, going to a dark place where what if one day he looked down at his hand and Harry’s wasn’t there. He felt sick. That was it. He needed tell him right now.

He unclasped their hands and turned over so he could gently roll Harry onto his back. He leaned on his elbow, running his thumb along Harry’s cheek, softly touching his lips to his. “Harry…” He whispered at first, not wanting to startle him.

He called his name a little louder the next time, watching his lashes flutter open at the sound of his voice. His eyes looked a hazy green as he started to come to, looking confused at first when he saw Louis’ face. He relaxed quickly, letting a smile fall on his lovely lips. “Lou,” he sighed softly.

“Hey, babe. How you feeling today?” Louis combed his hair away from his face, still stroking his thumb on his pink cheek.

“Tired, but alright.” He seemed thoughtful for a moment. “Actually…”

“What?”

He looked up at him with those emerald eyes and Louis suddenly felt his chest tighten. He didn’t know if he could do this. They looked glossy and innocent at first, until his smile suddenly turning cheeky.

“Harry...what…”

He overpowered Louis now, pushing him onto his back, moving his shirt up to expose his stomach. Harry shot him a wicked look. “I'm just looking for my birthday sex,"

Louis sucked in a breath. Shit. Harry’s hands continued to drag his shirt up and he broke out in a panic, unhooking his hands from his t shirt. He cocked an eyebrow at him “Problem?”

“I, uh…” think Louis. Christ. Just say it. You can do this. He fidgeted nervously. “I need to talk to you about last night,”

Harry smiled once more, bending back down to continue his evil work. “Nope, we can talk after. I’m not mad, okay? Now, be quiet and get in me."

Louis cursed himself, pulling Harry’s hands off him so he could remove his shirt. He averted his eyes when he heard Harry gasp. He reached out a hand, his eyes widening as he ran his fingers over the bruises. “Louis...” he paused sucking in a small breath. “Did someone do this to you?”

Louis shoulders sunk, defeated. There was no keeping it in anymore. “Yes.”

Harry swallowed, continuing to flutter his fingers over the ugly purple marks. “What...how…?”

“Andy,” Louis said quietly.

Harry pulled his hand away like he’d been burnt. “ _What_?” he choked out.

Louis grabbed his hand back, bringing it to his lips. “Babe, please just listen…I fucked up. I was being a twat, and a stupid twat at that, because I took something, ecstasy I think, and then…then I don’t really remember what happened. I woke up in Andy’s bathroom. That’s why Zayn and Liam had to come get me.” There. It was all out in the open now. He held his breath as Harry seemed to process this information.

He tried pulling his hand out of Louis’ grasp, his eyes flashing. “You kissed Andy?”

Louis’ eyebrows nearly flew of his head in shock. “What? No!”

“Well, what the fuck, Louis? How did you get all these marks, then?”

“I…fuck! I don’t _remember_ ,”

Harry scurried away from him, jumping off the bed. “Jesus Christ, Lou,” He dragged his hands through his hair, tugging on it as he paced the room “I mean, first you go to his fucking birthday instead of mine, and then...you fucking kiss the guy?”

Louis climbed off the bed, standing in front of him now. “I didn’t kiss him Harry, come on,” he said weakly.

“How do you know when you don’t even fucking remember! I…I can’t be here right now.” He turned away, striding to the dresser, practically tearing the drawer off the hinges. He pulled out a jumper, dragging it over his head. He hastily pulled on jeans and grabbed his wallet and keys on the way out the door. Louis flinched as heard the front door slam shut and sat on the end of their disheveled bed, staring at his empty tanned hand.

 ...

Zayn left Nick’s place with some mumbled promises about meeting up again sometime during the week and Nick eyeing him up strangely when he saw him off at the front door. He looked like he wanted to say something but shrugged instead, giving him one final wave before shutting it closed.

A little while later he found himself outside of Liam’s building, willing himself to get out of the car. He needed to get this over with, but wasn’t mentally prepared for well, anything really. He was in such a strange head space right now, like the incident with Andy had somehow rubbed off on Liam, now becoming his fault. Or maybe Zayn was just looking for a reason to be angry with him to help his love sick heart. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the knock on the window. He glanced up, meeting Liam’s soft brown eyes. He backed away from the window, waiting for Zayn to get out of the car.

Zayn climbed out and he immediately felt the tension hanging in the air. Liam looked like a lost puppy, his eyes guilty and sad as he spoke. “I don’t even know where to start,"

Zayn tapped a smoke out of the package, rolling it back and forth in his fingers in a sort of calming rhythm. “You have some pretty shit taste in friends, I'll say that."

Liam’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know what Andy was thinking. It was really, really stupid, and if I could take it back I would.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Liam. You don’t need to apologize for him.” Zayn lit the cigarette, watching Liam through the cloud of smoke.

Liam shuffled back and forth on his feet. “I just don’t know how to fix this. You’re so angry with me.”

Zayn sighed. His heart was being pulled in too many different ways. He wanted to tear his hair out. He thought about saying fuck it and finally ending his misery; kissing Liam right there just to see what he would do.

“I could never be angry with you, Liam. But I’m not sorry for hitting Andy, and I wasn’t kidding about what I said last night. He stays away from them,"

Liam dragged a hand through his hair. “Yes, yes of course. I…” He trailed off not sure what else to say. “I should probably take a break from him too, to be honest.”

"You’re a little too good for all that, Liam.” Zayn wanted to tell him he was perfect and kind and lovely, and everything else he thought about him daily, but he instead he let the words hang in the air. “Well, I should probably get going, I told Harry I’d bring his camera round.”

Liam nodded. "Tell the boys I said hi,” He paused, thinking for a moment until he brightened suddenly. “Hey, you guys should come by my gig tonight. It’s just at a pub, nothing special. But I feel like I owe you all a drink, especially Harry since I missed his birthday. So…what do you think?” He looked at him expectantly.

Zayn groaned inwardly. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep and forget about all things Liam and Nick related. He wanted to say no to him, but he physically couldn’t form the words. “Alright, I’ll let them know when I see them.”

His face lit up instantly and Zayn feel a familiar ache in his heart. “Brilliant!” He started walking backwards up the path to his building. “See you later?”

Zayn pulled out yet another cigarette, letting it hang off the edge of his lip. “Course." He saluted his fingers and started the walk to Harry and Louis' flat, pulling out his phone to message Nick. He may have said yes, but he wasn’t going to do this alone.

 ...

Louis sat in the shower for a very long time. He let the water pour on him as he tried to cry, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Because he knew it was wrong. Harry was the one in the right here. He shuddered, wondering when he’d come back. Would he leave Louis like he had done to him two nights in a row?

“Arrrghhhhhhh!” Louis let out a scream, grinding his fist into his eyes. And suddenly, he was fucking furious. At himself. At Andy. At Liam for having a prick friend like Andy. At Zayn for always being right. And last but not least at Nick fucking Grimshaw. Yeah. This was all his fault, wasn’t it. And finally Louis knew exactly what was going to make him feel better.

Louis stood on the steps aggressively ringing the door bell, his body practically convulsing with anger. He knew what he was doing was stupid and irrational, but he really didn’t fucking care at this point, he was too far gone. When Nick opened the door he had the element of surprise on his side, and he immediately launched his fist forward, putting his entire body behind the punch.

Nick stumbled back into his hallway, sputtering as he grabbed his nose. “WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK!”

Louis stepped inside now, caught off guard himself with the fact that he actually followed through with punching Nick Grimshaw, and that wow his hand really fucking hurt. He shook it out, still reeling from shock, and when he looked back up he was also met with a fist to the face, causing him to wobble about on his feet seeing stars.

He groaned clutching at his eye as he blindly reached around for a wall to steady himself. He felt his hand hit something solid and paused there, leaning over to catch his breath as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. He let out a few pants and peered over at Nick who was now sitting on the steps, holding his head back to stop his nose from bleeding. He popped an eye open to look at Louis, his mouth in a drawn in a tight line.

Louis turned to rest his body against the wall, sliding until he felt his bottom hit the hardwood floor. He spread out his legs, hooking his ankles and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back. “Alcohol,”

“Excuse me?” Nick sputtered.

Louis cracked an eye. “I feel like this would go better if we had alcohol.”

Nick continued to glare at him for a few minutes until he relented, getting up to head into the kitchen. Louis hauled himself up off the floor, following behind him watching Nick’s tense shoulders. He sat in a stool at the island, while Nick shot him wary looks as he made up their drinks He placed a glass of whiskey in front of him, the ice clinking as it hit the marble counter top. Louis lifted the offering to his mouth. “Cheers.”

Nick did not reiterate the sentiment, just continued to stare at him, half his face now covered in a bag of frozen peas.

Louis swallowed half the glass, his eye wincing in pain. “Sorry, mate."

Nick just glowered, tossing the bag of peas at him as he pulled open the freezer to grab another one. He leaned against the fridge, frowning at Louis once again. “Sorry mate? Seriously? You come to my house, punch me, demand a drink from me, and the follow up to that is, sorry mate?”

Louis looked up at him. “I wouldn't say demand as much as suggested,"

Nick threw his hands up in the air. “Fucks sake Tomlinson, I don’t know how Harry puts up with you,”

Louis bounced off his stool, stabbing a finger at him. “See that? That right there. That’s why I came over here in the first place, you bloody twat."

“I beg your pardon?”

“Nick, please don’t. I’m _so_ tired of all this utter shit. Just admit that you’re in love with my boyfriend!”

Nick started to wave him off, feeling the denial right on the tip of his tongue. But suddenly out of nowhere really, he realized he couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t lie. His shoulders sunk and he pulled up a stool, sitting on the opposite side of the island from Louis. “Fine.”

Louis crossed his arms. “Fine what?”

“Fine, I’m in love with Harry,” he said into his glass. He glanced up at Louis. “Happy now?”

Louis slumped back onto his stool resting his chin in his hands. “No. Not really. I didn’t think you’d actually say it.”

They sat there in silence; the only sounds being the tick of the clock and the hum of the fridge. Louis spoke up again. “I mean two birthday parties. Really, Nick?”

Nick just gave him a sour look. “Both of which you were invited to. Don't be an arsehole."

“Neither of which you asked me for any input on,”

Nick frowned, tracing his finger along the rim of his glass. He grumbled a bit before begrudgingly agreeing. "I ‘suppose… _however…_ you really fucked up by going to that stupid fuck Andy’s birthday,” Nick pointed at him, swaying a little. Okay how did the alcohol affect him already? God he needed sleep. He brought the bag of peas back to his aching face.

Louis dragged his hands over his face, pulling at his skin. “You think I don’t fucking know that?” He became quiet as he took another sip of his drink. “Harry stormed out this morning,”

“Ah. So then.”

“Yeah." Louis swirled his drink, watching the remains cling to the melting ice cubes. He was startled when Nick’s hands wrapped around the glass, sliding it back over once he topped it off.

Nick sighed. “Louis, you know Harry will be back. He’s just upset. It’s understandable. But he knows you wouldn’t do that to him deep down,”

“That’s just the thing! I don’t….I don’t remember what happened.”

As much as Louis annoyed Nick, he almost couldn’t stand to see the stress in his eyes. “Louis…Louis, look at me.” Louis slowly pulled his head up. “You knew well enough to lock yourself in a bathroom. You didn’t make someone put those marks on you. I know that you would _never_ do that to Harry. As much as it annoys me.”

Louis gave a small laugh. He stopped suddenly, a question in his eyes. “How did you know about the bruises? Did Zayn tell you?”

“Um, he may have mentioned it.”

Now it was Louis’ turn for questions. “Is something going on between you and Zayn? I asked him last night but he wouldn’t say.”

Nick tried to avert his gaze. “Nick...”

“Louis, I think it’s best if you just leave it.”

“You two are both idiots you know?”

Nick looked up quickly, sloshing his drink slightly. “That's quite rude,”

“Hey, I may not know what goes on with you two, but why are you wasting your lives away like this? You clearly seem to enjoy each other’s company. Have you ever thought of just you know, trying to be together?”

Nick waved him off, “It’s not like that."

“How do you know if you don’t even try? Have you talked to Zayn about it? Seriously, Nick, I don’t know how much longer I can watch him pine over Liam.”

Nick pitched out a laugh. “Or me over Harry, right?"

“Look I don’t blame you, I would pine over Harry too if I were you.”

They both laughed out loud at this. Somehow, by way of a miracle they had seemed to knock some sense into each other. Literally and figuratively.

“Seriously though, Nick… the Harry thing…as much as it pisses me off, and it does trust me, I know…I mean I get it. Harry is everything that we are not. He’s…” Louis trailed off collecting his thoughts. “He’s like this perfect light in a room that’s not quite bright enough, you know? I honestly…I don’t know what I’d do without him. I truly don’t deserve him. No one does really.”

As Nick watched Louis open up to him he finally got it. Something finally clicked into place. He needed to move on with his life. He had never seen someone so open and raw talking about another person before, and the fact that Louis didn’t even think he was worthy of him made it all the more painful.

Louis looked at him again, his eyes misty. “I love him so much, it almost physically pains me. Why do I do the things I do to him?”

Nick reached over and grasped his hand. “There’s that old saying, you always hurt the ones you love. So just stop, Louis. Stop pushing him away. Stop thinking you don’t deserve him, and stop worrying about an old twat like me. I’m not stealing him away, though I’m flattered you think that I could.”

Louis’ lips curved up at the edges and Nick winked at him. And for the first time in a long time he felt lighter. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Louis searched his eyes again. “Give it a try with Zayn, okay? I think you guys are kind of charmingly adorable together.”

He reached over to pinch his cheek. “Stop being sentimental, Tomlinson. Pretentious twat looks much better on you.”

Louis swatted his hand away. “Piss off, Grimmy you bloody hipster.”

They sat there giggling and decided that they were pleasantly buzzed. Louis looked serious once more; his eyes lined with worry again. “Do you think you could message Harry?”

Nick nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket. It buzzed in his hand, lighting up with a message from Zayn. Louis leaned over to look at the name and sat back in his chair with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“Shut it,” Nick said as he opened it. He scanned the lines and then looked up with a Cheshire cat grin. “Well well well. Two birds with one stone. Zayn’s with Harry. And they just invited me out for a drink. Looks like we’re going out. Together,” Nick pondered this. “Fuck, who would have thought.”

When they walked back out in the front hallway Louis adjusted his hair in the mirror, his eyes almost bugging out of his head at the massive purple bruise forming around his eye. “Oh my god, what else can happen to my poor body.”

Nick examined his own face, smugly satisfied to know that he had a better right hook than Louis. But he figured he’d keep that too himself now that they’d come to some sort of understanding.

What a strange 24 hours it had been.


	4. Chapter 4

Zayn turned down Harry and Louis’ street pondering the decision to bring them some coffee. He really needed the caffeine and he supposed it would be rude to show up to their flat with one just for himself. He also needed more cigarettes, having smoked them all in an attempt to keep his stress level down and to occupy his mouth from saying anything too revealing to Liam. He popped in a corner store to grab a new pack before pushing open the door to the coffee shop to complete his next purchase. He stood in line, his eyes sleepily scanning the room for no particular reason other than boredom, when he zoned in on a familiar mop of messy curls.

The first thing he noticed were the dark bags under Harry’s eyes, standing out  harshly against his porcelain skin, which looked almost translucent today in the pale afternoon light. He bit down mindlessly on his thumb nail as he stared out the window, while an untouched frozen concoction stood melting on the table in front of him. Zayn frowned as he made his way over to him, clearing his throat to snap him out of his dream like state.

“Penny for your thoughts there, curly?”

Harry looked at him with wide eyes, startled out of his trance. “Oh…hey, Zayn,

Zayn cocked his eyebrow. “'Oh hey Zayn' is all I get? And to think I came to deliver your camera to you out of the goodness of my heart.”

Harry dropped his eyes to the couch. “Sorry. And thanks for that, you didn’t have to. I could have gone and picked it up.”

Zayn sat down beside him, fingers brushing his knee. “Hey, everything okay? Where’s Lou? I figured I would have been interrupting some making up when I came up, if you know what I mean,"

Harry flicked his eyes up quickly. “Little hard to want to shag your boyfriend when someone else’s teeth marks are on him.”

“Oh,”

Harry sighed as he leaned back against the couch, almost shrinking into it. “Yeah, 'oh'. What the fuck happened, Zayn?”

Zayn turned his body so that he was facing him, trying to make Harry understand with his eyes. “ _Nothing_ happened, Harry. That fucking scumbag Andy was being a dick as per usual, and took advantage of a bad situation.”

Harry looked exhausted as he threw his hands up in frustration. “I don’t even understand why there needed to be a situation in the first place! What am I doing wrong, Zayn? Doesn’t he know I love him? Am I not doing enough?”

Zayn decided to be blunt with his words. “Harry, you know what Louis is like. He’s headstrong, he’s difficult, not to mention stubborn as fuck, and tends to make something out of nothing in that idiot head of his,”

Harry furrowed his brows in concern. “I thought you were trying to make me feel better about this?”

Zayn laughed. “I wasn’t finished. And he is so stupidly in love with you that he’s constantly worried someone is trying to steal you away from him. So, he acts out and pushes you away, because somehow in that fucked up brain of his he thinks you’d better off without him. He’s so scared that you’re going to leave him,”

Harry paled, grasping onto Zayn’s hands. “I would _never_ do that, why doesn’t he tell me these things? How can I make it better if I don’t know?”

Zayn squeezed his hand. “Harry, every single one of us knows that you would never leave him. And Louis doesn’t tell you because he doesn’t even realize all this himself. He’s lagging a little behind, but he’ll catch up eventually. Trust me.” Zayn pressed on. “So, I can tell you with every fiber in my being that Louis would never touch Andy. He knew well enough to lock himself in a bathroom. He was in a right state when we got him.”

Harry looked like he was going to cry and Zayn caught his attention again. “Hey, no need to worry, I punched his lights out for the both of you.”

Harry instantly brightened, biting back a giggle. His face dropped quickly again, eyes looking sad. “I shouldn’t have stormed out today. I just…it was a little overwhelming.”

“Ah, Louis will be fine. Just go home and fuck his brains out. He’s really not that complicated.”

Harry finally let out a fit of laughter and Zayn finally felt his insides relax. He pointed to the frosty drink in front of Harry. “May I?”

Harry nodded and watched as Zayn took a sip, his face pulling into a grimace. “That is truly awful, how can you drink that?"

Harry stuck out his tongue, pulling it out of his hands. He took a sip and a delighted sigh left him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s extremely delicious.”

Zayn just shook his head. “No wonder you and Louis are perfect for each other. You’re both nuts.”

Harry just smiled as he nodded at the bag next to Zayn. “Did Nick remember to give you the photos too?”

He shrugged, passing the bag with the camera over to Harry. He reached in and was bright eyed and bushy tailed once again as he flipped through the photos. He groaned at some of them, smacking his forehead. “Oh my god, I am going to kill Nick for getting that stripper,”

Zayn grabbed the pictures out of his hands, laughing as he shuffled through them. He paused on one of Nick and wondered what it would be like to go out with him and just _be_ for once, and have a laugh and take ridiculous pictures and not care about anybody else.

Harry was watching him thoughtfully. “You stayed at Nick’s last night," He said it like a statement, not a question.

Zayn tried to play it casual, like this was something they always did and something that he always talked about. “Suppose I did, yes.”

“And??”

Zayn gave him a sideways glance. Harry looked like he was about to vibrate out of his seat with anticipation. Zayn rolled his eyes. “ _And_ nothing. It’s…we’re friends, is all.”

“That is a very vague explanation. I can’t believe two of my best friends have been hanging out and I didn’t even have a clue. Does anyone tell me anything anymore? Am I just living in my own little Harry bubble?” He sat there with a flabbergasted look on his face.

Zayn hugged him into his side, messing up his hair. “Well. we actually like to call it your Louis bubble.”

He pushed him away, tugging at the sleeves of his jumper. He looked at the sleeves again groaning internally. Okay Louis’ jumper. He turned back to Zayn. “Look I’m not some delicate flower you know, you guys can talk to me. I am well versed in other subjects besides Louis, as shocking as that is I'm sure."

Zayn’s expression softened as he poked him in the side. “Whose jumper are you wearing, Harry?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “It’s mine.”

Zayn’s lips curved up in a smile. “You’re a terrible liar. The thing is… we’re all kind of ridiculously fucked up and I guess we try to spare you of that, you know?” He grabbed his hand again. “But I agree. I think we should all talk more. Deal?”

Harry nodded, pulling his phone out to check the time. “I should probably get back and talk to Lou,” He met Zayn’s eyes again. “Thanks. For being honest with me,” he grinned suddenly. “And I will wrangle something out of you about Nick one day.”

“Hmm, yeah…” Zayn looked at his own phone, a message beeping. “Speak of the devil,” he swore under his breath. “Fuck I almost forgot, Liam asked us to come see him play tonight…” he trailed off reading the rest of the message. “What the…” He looked back up at Harry who was watching him expectantly.

“What?”

“Uh, Louis and Nick want us to come meet them at the pub. For Liam’s show.”

They both stared at each other in disbelief. Harry gave him a funny look at he pulled up Louis’ number on his phone. He answered on the first ring.

“Are you with Nick?”

Louis hesitated on the other end. “Kind of?"

“Kind of?”

He heard Nick shout in the background now. “Yes, young Harold, Louis and I are shagging our brains out while you pout into your Frappuccino. Now, hang up and meet us.”

“Are you two fucking kidding me right now?”

Nick grabbed the phone from Louis, taking over completely now. “Darling, which are you more mad about? That I knew you were pouting, or that I knew you were drinking a Frappuccino?”

“Oh shut up, Nick.

“Tsk tsk, so predictable, Harold. Now quite your whinging and come meet us for a drink, Louis desperately misses you, I mean it’s been at least a few hours since he last saw you.”

In the background Harry heard a 'Don’t make me punch you again, Grimmy'

“Grimmy? …Punching?” Harry dragged a hand through his hair. “Have I actually woken up on another planet today?”

“Harold. Pub. Now. Tah tah.”

He stared down at his phone when they hung up like it was a foreign object. He looked at Zayn for help, who just shrugged and pulled out a cigarette. “Hey, don’t ask me, I’m just as confused as you are,”

Harry shook his hair out in a daze, “ I need to run home and shower quickly. You don’t mind?”

Zayn looked down at his own state of dress, his clothes rumpled from being in them for much too long. "I wouldn’t mind one either to be fair.”

Harry stood up striding towards the door, shaking his head. “This is so fucking weird.”

 ...

When Zayn and Harry found them in the pub a little while later, they both gave each other a skeptical look as they watched them laugh and push each other in a booth, cheersing one another with shot glasses.

They edged closer to the booth and Nick and Louis finally saw them, cheering loudly as they approached. “Hurray, you made it!”

Zayn scratched his head. “Is this a joke or something?”

Nick grabbed his wrist, pulling him down into the booth. “You guys are such skeptics, can’t we all just get along?”

Zayn snorted, adjusting himself so he could sit up properly. “Um no. Not when it’s you two. I thought you hated each other?”

Nick motioned with his hand with his drink in it, splashing some onto the table. “Nothing a few punches and alcohol couldn’t sort out,”

Harry finally spoke up from where he seemed to be rooted into the floor. “You punched my boyfriend?!” He slid into the booth taking Louis’ face in his hands, gently examining it. He frowned, running his thumb along the now dark purple bruise under his eye. “What the fuck, Nick,”

Louis felt giddy to have Harry’s hands on him once again, but he pulled them away, placing them in his lap. “I’m _fine,_ Harry. To be fair, I punched him first,”

Zayn quickly drew his eyes over Nick’s face. “You did? He looks fine to me,”

Louis jabbed a finger at Nick as he slit his eyes. “Nothing. Not a peep Grimshaw.”

He raised his hands feigning innocence. He felt Zayn’s hand on his knee under the table and the flash of his phone indicating a message – you did a good thing Nick. Can we talk later? Xx

Nick looked at him sideways and smiled, nodding as he squeezed him back under the table. They made small talk with each other to allow Harry and Louis a private moment.

Louis nudged his knee, bringing Harry’s hand to his lips. “I _am_ sorry. For so many things,” Louis fiddled with the coaster on the table nervously. “I just … I really love you, Harry and I’m sorry I do a shit job of showing you. I…”

“Louis, you ready?”

They all turned their heads to look at Liam who was standing at the edge of the table with his guitar slung around his torso. Zayn contemplated the funny look he gave him and Nick, which Liam quickly shook off as he looked expectantly at Louis.

“Right, right, I'm coming,"

Harry looked at him, confused. “Where are you going?”

He just winked at him, and Harry glanced at Zayn and Nick for an answer, who just shrugged themselves as their eyes all settled on Louis, who was now sitting on a stool next to Liam at the front of the pub.

Louis tapped the mic a few times before speaking into it. “Hey…hi. Um, well my friend Liam here was kind enough to let me borrow him on a song because frankly I’m shit at playing the guitar,” He shifted on the stool stuttering a bit. “I…well, you see it was my boyfriend’s birthday yesterday, and we didn’t get a chance to spend it together because apparently I’m a proper twat,” the small crowd laughed and Louis flashed a small smile as he continued. “So, to make up for my grave mistake, I’d like to sing a song for him if that’s alright.” The crowd clapped their approval and he blew out a nervous breath, focusing his eyes on Harry. “This goes out to Harry Styles, who I love like crazy.”

“Come on skinny love just last the year…”

Harry sucked in a breath as Nick and Zayn shot him a look of surprise. Nick spoke up first. “I would have never thought Louis Tomlinson would know this song.”

“I didn’t realize either,” Harry breathed out.

“Didn’t think he knew anything other than show tunes myself,” Zayn said with a laugh.

Harry glared at him, mouthing at him to shut up. They brought their attention back to Louis who seemed to be lost in his own little world up there, eyes closed, his hand grasped tight around the mic.

When he finished he opened his eyes to Harry lunging at him, pulling him into a passionate kiss while the bar patrons hooted and hollered around them. Liam’s voice finally brought them back down to earth. “Ok boys, get a room now will you.”

They moved off to the side, where Harry ran his hand down Louis’ arm, looking at him in awe. “How did you…I didn’t think you listened to my music?”

Louis looked at his shoes, embarrassed. “Actually I do,” He looked up at Harry again a faint smile on his lips. “When I’m not with you I tend to subconsciously listen to your music, so that I don’t miss you as much. But I suppose it’s not so subconscious if I do it on purpose. So…”

Harry bent down to kiss him and Louis sighed into it, wrapping his fingers in the curls at his neck to pull him closer. Harry kissed him once more as they pulled apart, but kept his fingers splayed on Louis’ waist.

“Sometimes saying I love you isn’t enough, you know? I felt like I really needed to show you, Harry, in my own way. I don’t do it enough. And I’m sorry for that.”

Harry dug his fingers into his hips, eyes flashing. “Why don’t you take me home and show me how much you love me all over the apartment,”

Louis blinked a few times, mouth going dry. “Harry, we only just got here,”

Harry growled, tugging his arm, “Fine, come on,”

He dragged Louis towards the bathroom and Louis’ eyes almost popped out of his head. “Harry are you crazy!” he hissed.

Harry just looked at him with a devilish grin and Louis realized that he wasn’t going to stop him.

 ...

When they dropped back into the booth, Louis looked guilty and Harry looked like a satisfied cat. Zayn and Nick gave them sour looks.

“Did you just have _sex_  in a the loo of a pub?” Nick drew a hand to his chest in mock disgust. “There are pensioners here, for god’s sake you two.”

Harry just smirked, taking a sip of his beer. “When your boyfriend sings your favorite song you reward him with a blowjob, Nick. Its standard practice.”

Louis clutched his face, dropping it to the table. “Oh my god,”

Harry rubbed a hand along his back. “Lou, be careful, your eye remember?”

Nick narrowed his eyes. “What exactly did you do to him in that bathroom, Harold, I may need to use it at some point.”

Louis let out a loud groan, “Dear god, please stop.”

Harry slapped Nick’s shoulder lightly. “Stop teasing my boyfriend. And his eye is in pain because _you_ punched him, remember?”

“Oh right, that. Sorry, mate. Let me buy you a drink. Or I can kiss it better. Your choice.”

Harry slapped him harder this time. “Hey! Just because you’re friendly now doesn’t mean you can shamelessly flirt with him,”

Nick rolled his eyes dramatically as he nudged Zayn. “You’re awfully quiet,”

Zayn pushed up from the table grabbing his drink. “You guys are all idiots.”

“Who’s an idiot? Wha'd I miss?”

Everyone’s eyes turned towards Niall who was yawning as he ran his hands through his hair, placing the snap back down once he had it adjusted.

“Where the hell have you been?” Zayn asked.

He slid into the both, grabbing at a half drank pint on the table. “I was hung over as fuck today,” he wagged a finger at Nick, “Grimmy here sure knows how to throw a good party. Surprised I made it home in one piece. Nice job on the stripper too.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “What’s that now?”

Nick laughed. “Calm down, Tomlinson, it was a _woman,_ and your boyfriend had never looked more petrified in his life,” Nick’s eyes suddenly looked dreamy, “The pictures are something I will treasure for a lifetime.”

Harry blushed as Niall cackled loudly. “Oh fuck Lou, his face was priceless! He sat there like a little school girl his did, his hands all prim and proper. Hysterical.”

“I’m glad you all think this is funny,” Harry pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh babe, I’m sure I could give you a better show than some two bit stripper,” Louis said as he squeezed his thigh.

Harry instantly perked up. “Oh really,”

“For Christ’s sake, will you two just leave already before you get off right here in this booth.” Nick pushed Harry’s shoulders to shoo him out. “Get. You two are disgusting,” he nodded at Niall, “There was already a blowjob incident.”

Niall covered his ears. “Ahhhh ear muffs, ear muffs, fuck man. Jesus, yeah, what he said. Please go home.”

Harry quickly slid out of the booth. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he grabbed Louis hand to pull him up. “Come on honey, take me home and ravish me.”

Louis’ face went beet red as Niall gave them the finger, Zayn pulled out another smoke and Nick saluted them with a shot. “Give him a spanking for me, Harold.”

Harry turned around pointing at him, “Stop.”

He shrugged and turned to Zayn who was shaking his head. “What?”

“You are ridiculous. Taking this to the extreme now, aren’t you?”

“What, I’m not allowed to be nice?”

“Just seems a little over the top seeing as you just hated him not that long ago. Like last night not that long ago,” Zayn said with a twinge of annoyance.

“I didn’t hate the lad, it was just a case of mild dislike. Why, jealous are we?”

“No,” he said flatly.

Niall watched their interaction, his head whipping back and forth between the two of them. “Seriously guys. What did I miss?”

Nick reached out to pat his hand. “How much time do you have, Irish?"

Niall rose up; stretching his arms above his head. “I just woke up boys. I have all night. Let me get a few drinks and you can catch me up.”

Nick turned his attention back to Zayn who still had his cigarette hanging against his lip. “You going to smoke that, or just sit here and look all sexy and brooding with it?”

Zayn looked smug. “Sexy, huh.”

Nick slung an arm around his shoulder, bringing his lips to his ear. “Don’t make me follow in Harry’s footsteps,”

Zayn looked at the table, blushing as he bit his lip to conceal his smile. When he looked back up he caught Liam’s eyes and the noticeable frown on his usually smiling lips.

Hmm….how about that Zayn thought


	5. Chapter 5

Nick was sufficiently pissed a short while later due to Niall’s persistence - ‘come on ya pussy just one more pint’. He was running on no sleep, alcohol and an intense mix of emotions, all which made for an interesting combination. He was being quite handsy with Zayn, and the fact it seemed to be making Liam more and more uncomfortable only made him want to do it more. He wrapped an arm around Zayn’s waist, giggling into his ear. “I seem to have a knack for pissing off your friends. I feel quite honored.”

Zayn glanced over to where Liam was chatting with Niall, noting the irritation in his eyes as he watched them, darting them away quickly thinking that no one would notice. But clearly Nick did. Zayn looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh at the boozy smile that covered his face. “You do seem pretty pleased with yourself.”

“Oh, but I am. Clearly this is a gift, dear,” he paused for a moment contemplating something. His face pulled into a frown. “Hey, if everyone's so worried about me stealing their men all the time, then why don’t I have a constant string of suitors at my door? This is rubbish.”

Zayn shook his head in disbelief. “Nick, you are _always_ getting hit on.”

“Don’t exaggerate love; people asking for my opinion on what obscure records they should buy when you slum it in record stores with me is not a pick up technique. That’s just hipsters being hipsters.”

“Whatever you say."”

Nick tugged him closer again, his lips hovering over Zayn’s. “I say we should go home because I am very drunk, and I would like you to cuddle me.”

Zayn kissed him lightly, not caring who saw anymore. “We cuddle now, do we? Are …”

They heard the clearing of a throat and jumped apart, turning to face Liam who was looking at Nick with obvious annoyance, which of course caused Nick to act up even more.

“Liam, good chap, brilliant gig tonight!” he exclaimed loudly.

He caught Liam off guard; this was not what he had been expecting to come out of Nick’s mouth. “Thanks?” He gave Nick a tight smile before looking at Zayn. “Can I speak to you for a minute?”

“Actually, we were just leaving, weren’t we Zayn,” Nick purred. And there it was. Zayn knew Nick couldn’t refrain from being a smart ass for too long. He pinched his leg, indicating for him to shut up.

He unlatched himself from Nick’s hold, grabbing his jacket. “Sure, let’s go outside so I can smoke.”

Liam threw Nick one last frown, which he responded back with by batting his eyelashes innocently, hiding a smirk in his beer. He followed Zayn out into the crisp night air, standing in front of him as he leaned against the side of the building lighting his smoke.

“You were good tonight…”

Liam shook his head. “Zayn, I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about Nick,”

Zayn was surprised at the tone of Liam’s voice. He had never heard him quite like this. “I already told you last night that there wasn’t anything to talk about.”

Liam’s hand clenched at his side. “Clearly there is, Zayn, or else he wouldn’t be all over you tonight,”

Zayn straightened up, abandoning his smoke on the ground. “I’m really fucking tired of these mixed signals. So please, tell me why exactly this bothers you or should be any of your business.”

“I just…I don’t think Nick is good for you,” he muttered, avoiding Zayn’s eyes.

“That's funny, because you don’t really have a say in what’s good for me or not.”

Liam looked up again, his eyes sad. “I’m your friend, Zayn. I care about you.”

“Then you should want me to be happy," Zayn said pointedly.

Liam looked defeated. “I do. But, don’t you hear the things that people say about him?”

Zayn threw his hands up, wanting to strangle something out of frustration. “Fuck, Liam…” and then he made a rash decision. He closed the space between them, grabbing Liam’s face and pulling him in for a kiss. Liam made a surprised gasp as their lips met, his hands gripping Zayn’s shoulder. Zayn stepped back, his eyes roaming over his face. Liam held his breath for a few minutes, finally rasping one out.

“Why did you do that...”

“Well it’s about bloody time,”

They were both startled by sound of Nick’s voice. He was leaning against a streetlight on the corner, watching them intently. Zayn’s heart was suddenly beating harder than he wanted it to. 

“Nick, I’ll be right there,”

He waved him off. “No bother, I’m going home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Nick, just wait…” Zayn called out, his voice edged with panic.

But he was already hopping into a cab before Zayn could stop him. He pulled his hair in frustration. “Fuck!”

Liam threw him a worried look, his fingers still absently touching his lips. Zayn gave his arm as squeeze. “I have to go,” before stalking over to the corner Nick just left.

Liam watched him walk away; not bothering to go after him because he truly didn’t know what the hell was going on with Zayn anymore. But he knew someone who probably did he thought to himself as he jogged back over to the pub to grab his stuff.

... 

Harry walked into the living room, munching loudly on a bowl of cereal. He leaned against the wall, smiling at Louis in-between mouthfuls.

Louis shook his head as he flicked through the channels on the tv. “Harry, do you ever plan on getting dressed?”

Harry kept on smiling cheerfully, speaking with his mouth full. “Nope. Just making your life easier.”

Louis sat up on the couch, folding his arms across his chest. “I can assure you, it’s not.” Looking at his body had only gotten more frustrating ever since Harry had started working out more Louis mused silently. He was shaken out of his thoughts when his phone started ringing, Harry raising his eyebrow in question as he answered it.

“Hey, Liam,” he glanced at Harry shrugging, who had now abandoned his bowl of cereal, sauntering over to Louis to shake his ass in front of him.

He rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh into the phone. "Of course it’s no bother, we’re still up. See you soon.”

He hung up, giving Harry a light slap. “Alright babe, now you have to get dressed, because I’m very certain Liam doesn’t want to see you naked.”

Harry turned around and flopped into his lap, reaching over link his fingers with Louis’ “His loss. What’s up, why's he’s coming over?”

Louis squeezed his hand. “Not sure, he sounded a bit flustered. Couldn’t really say no to him. Now come on, off.”

Harry grumbled as he hopped off Louis, holding out a hand to pull him up. Louis leaned in to kiss him, tugging down on a curl. “Get some clothes on that cute bum of yours, I’m going to get us some drinks.”

Harry wiggled his ass at him one more time before bounding down the hall to their bedroom, hollering out, “I’ll have a beer please!”

Louis muttered to himself, wrinkling his nose as he gathered up Harry’s now soggy cereal. “He’s going to have beer on top of milk. I am in love with a heathen.”

He padded into the kitchen, pulling out what he needed to make some tea because he decided that his alcohol intake over the last 24 hours was a bit on the excessive side. Plus Liam didn’t drink much and judging from the sound of his voice on the phone, he needed to relax.

Louis hummed to himself as he waited for the kettle to boil, tapping his foot to a song playing quietly from the ipod dock. He smiled when he felt Harry’s arms around him, his body giving off extra warmth from the hoodie he had put on. His breath was warm on Louis’ neck as he rest his chin on his shoulder. “Love you.”

He closed his eyes, wrapping a hand around Harry’s forearm. “I love you too, babe,” A tiny knock sounded at the door. Louis have Harry’s arm a pat. “Can you let him in?” He felt the nod of agreement and the squeeze of fingers in his side.

He busied himself getting their tea ready and pulling out a beer for Harry, when he heard their voices getting closer. He turned around to hand Harry his beer as pulled out a chair to sit in at the kitchen table. Liam stood in the doorway looking a bit sheepish. “Sorry to interrupt your night, Lou.”

Louis waved at him, “Don’t be daft Liam. Here, I made you a tea. Have a seat and tell us what’s on your mind.”

Liam accepted the tea from Louis, sitting down in the seat across from Harry. He held the mug tightly, watching the steam rise up for a minute before finally speaking. “Zayn kissed me,”

Harry made a choking noise, almost spitting out his beer. “What?!”

Louis groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Oh god, he finally broke.”

Both Harry and Liam turned in their chairs to look at him. He felt their eyes on him and lowered his hand. He sighed. “I don’t think should be this big of a shock you guys. Liam, surely you can’t have been this blind?”

Liam shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I mean...I see the way he looks at me sometimes…but we’re friends, Louis. Just friends.”

“No, Liam. _You’re_ just his friend. Zayn is just a friend that happens to be in love with you.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “Louis!”

He shrugged, taking a sip of his tea. “What? I’m not doing this anymore. I’m so sick and tired of all the drama and lies,” he motioned his mug at Liam. "So, what set him off anyways?”

Liam still looked shell shocked by the love bomb that Louis had dropped on him. “Um…well I may have told him I didn’t think Nick was good for him?”

Now it was Harry’s turn to pipe up. “Hey, Nick’s amazing!”

Louis frowned. “Okay, calm down, Nick’s _fine_ , and he’s fun I’ll admit. However, if anyone is amazing, it’s me.”

A tiny smile formed on Liam’s face. “Don’t hold back now, Lou.

"Liam, I happen to be the president of the 'Nick Grimshaw annoys me' club, so I'm entitled. But, we did have a nice chat today. And I have to say, I do think that he and Zayn are kind of cute together,”

Harry beamed widely and Louis winked at him. He brought his attention back to Liam. “So, Liam. I think it comes down to this. I think Zayn could be really happy with Nick if he let himself. But what he needs to hear from you is that you don’t love him. Not in the way he wants. I know that sounds harsh, but I think he needs it to move on.”

Liam suddenly looked very tired. “I do love him…but like you say. Not like that. I...I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“You weren’t doing it intentionally, Liam. I guess we don’t realize how hard it is when you want something so much, but you can’t have it.” Louis glanced at Harry, thinking of the conversation that he had with Nick earlier. He thought about everything that had transpired in the last 24hrs, and suddenly he wanted to hold onto Harry and never let go.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and immediately perked up, thinking of the one thing they had forgotten to ask. “Wait, what happened to Zayn anyways? I mean after he kissed you,”

Liam let out a laugh. “That’s the funny thing. Nick saw us and took off. Zayn went after him.”

Harry looked surprised and Louis simply said. “Oh…alright."

Liam rubbed his hands over his eyes. “That’s why I feel like such a shit. I shouldn’t have said anything about Nick in the first place. I guess I’ve just heard some things about him, and I saw him all over Zayn tonight and I got worried. Sorry Harry, I shouldn't make rash judgements.”

Harry just gave him a knowing smile. “It’s perfectly fine. Nick is one of a kind, and he’s not everyone’s cup of tea.”

Louis snorted. “Isn’t that the truth. But he has grown on me, as I’m sure he will with you too. The annoying little hipster.”

Harry pushed up from the table, giving the side of Louis’ head a kiss as he grabbed another beer from the fridge. “You should tell him the stories you’ve heard. He’d love to know how popular he is,”

Louis made a disgusted noise. “Please don’t inflate his ego any more than necessary.”

Harry grabbed him by the waist, pulling him down into his lap. Louis attempted to glare at him but just ended up laughing, settling back against his chest. Liam watched them, finally smiling with his whole face, his eyes crinkling up at the sides. “You guys really put most couples to shame, you know.”

Louis blushed, his fingers fiddling with the placemat. Liam covered them with his own, grabbing his attention once more. “Thank you for listening. And the advice. I think I really needed that.”

“Anytime. Turns out this whole sharing your feelings thing isn’t so bad after all.” They all fell silent for a minute. 

Louis jumped suddenly when he felt Harry’s pants vibrate. Harry managed to wrangle his phone out of his pocket without moving Louis off his lap, his lips curving into a smile as he read the message. Louis and Liam watched him waiting to see who it was. “It’s Zayn. He wants to know if we can do breakfast here tomorrow. He and Nick want to come by and talk to us,” he met Liam’s eyes. “All of us.”

“Those twats just want me to cook them breakfast,” Louis huffed out.

Harry poked him the side as he typed a message back. “Since when do you cook? And our flat is bigger anyways. Niall’s coming too.”

Louis raised his hands in mock outrage. “Why don’t we just feed the whole neighborhood while we’re at it. Anything else we can do for Prince Malik?”

Harry just shook his hand, smiling at Liam. “He’s just being dramatic, he loves to play hostess. You can just stay over if you like Liam, no point in going home.”

Liam looked at him great fully. “Thanks, I’m proper knackered. You sure it’s alright, you don't want a night alone?”

Louis jumped off Harry’s lap, gathering up their mugs. “More than,” He opened the fridge, taking a quick inventory of their groceries. “Shit, I’ll have to run down to the store to grab some more eggs.”

“I can go, I’m already dressed.” He grabbed his keys and wallet off the counter, before coming over to stand in front of Louis. He leaned down to kiss him softly, breathing I love you against his lips. He stuffed his curls under a beanie and gave Liam hug as he left the kitchen. He called out a goodbye from the front door, and Louis had never been happier that super powers didn’t exist. Because if Liam could read his mind right now, he would have been very embarrassed. Though he was pretty sure it was written all over his face. He was a fool in love. 

Liam gave his arm a squeeze. “You alright, Lou?”

He just breathed out a “yeah” as he guided Liam down to the hall to the spare bedroom.

... 

Zayn stood outside of Nick’s place knocking softy, leaning his head against the door. He finally heard footsteps, and saw the light in the hallway flick on. He stepped back, his hand tightening around the bottle in his hand.

Nick opened the door and genuinely looked surprised. He stared at Zayn for a few moments before speaking. “Well this is some déjà vu. Did we go back in time?”

Zayn smiled, looking down as he shuffled his feet. “It’s not raining at least,” He looked back up at Nick, licking his lips nervously. “Can I come in?”

Nick stood back, motioning with his arm for him to enter. Zayn decided on familiar territory, sitting on the steps, placing the bottle of whiskey on the floor next to his feet.

Nick followed, sitting down beside him, except this time he was the first one to crack open the bottle, taking a long sip before wiping his hand across his mouth. “I don’t think I should drink for a long while after this,”

Zayn laughed. “It’s been quite the eventful day for you, hasn’t it,”

“Hmm, yes let’s see. I snogged you. Then I got punched by Louis. Then I made up with Louis. Then I hung out with Harry, and didn’t think about him once. Then I got pissed with Niall. Then I watched you snog Liam. And that my love, was my day.”

Zayn flinched inwardly. “Nick…”

Nick cut him off. “You don’t need to explain, you know. This is what you’ve been waiting for.”

Zayn bumped his shoulder. “Then why would I be here?”

He looked confused for a moment before turning to face Zayn. “Okay, maybe you do need to explain,”

Zayn took a swig of whiskey before he started. He grimaced at the burn of the alcohol in his throat. “This morning I wanted to ask you something, and then after seeing what you did with Louis I knew even more so that what I was asking was right. But I needed to get closure too, like you did. I had to know. So, I kissed him.”

“Is this going to make more sense, because I am much too drunk for this,”

He turned his body so that he could look at Nick head on. “I kissed him Nick, and I saw it in his eyes. I felt it on his lips. He doesn’t want me. And you know what? It’s okay. Because when I kissed him it didn’t feel right for me either. It’s not...It's not like when I kiss you.”

Nick seemed taken aback, his body suddenly tense. Zayn grabbed one of his hands continuing on. “I’ve let my mind be so clouded by Liam that I didn’t realize how deep in it I was with you. I was watching you in the pub as you looked at Harry and Louis, and you looked so damn happy for them. And I want that. I’d like to have even a smidgen of what they have.”

Nick furrowed his brow, opening his mouth a few times before getting out the words. “And you want this with me?”

“We’re kind of halfway there already. And I know that Harry would be ecstatic,” he said with a laugh.

Nick smirked, placing his other hand on top of Zayn’s. “Yes, well so would Louis. He told me today to give it a go with you.”

Zayn laughed even harder. “Pretty sure he was trying to tell me the same thing the night before. Who knew Louis Tomlinson would be our biggest supporter?”

“Strange times, indeed. I guess Liam won’t be too excited judging from the looks he was giving me all night,”

And because he could, Zayn leaned over and kissed him. He sat back, blushing slightly as he picked at his jeans. "I was thinking of asking Harry if we could come by their place for breakfast. So we can tell them all together. I mean I know it’s not a big deal, but I just don’t want any more secrets, and I …”

Nick grabbed his chin so he was looking at him again. “It will be like the big, gay coming out party I never had, Zayn.”

He rolled his eyes, but kissed him again. “So, we’re doing this,” he said, looking at Nick expectantly.

Nick grabbed his hand, pulling him so he had to follow him up the stairs. “Indeed. Now, let’s go do ‘this’ in bed, because your boyfriend needs his beauty sleep. Wouldn’t want him looking a fright when you introduce him to your friends.”

Zayn poked him in the shoulder. “Boyfriend, hey?”

“I can call you boy toy if you prefer, it’s really up to you.”

“You’re crazy.”

Nick dropped onto his bed, bringing Zayn down with him. They sprawled on their backs, turning to face each other. Nick smirked. “Crazy for you.”

Zayn just groaned, rolling his face into Nick’s side as he shook with laughter.

 ...

They arrived at Harry and Louis’ flat the next morning with trays of coffee, hoping to tide over what they figured would be an irritated Louis for them pushing this breakfast on him in the first place. He opened up the door and the scowl he had on his face quickly turned into a smile. “And to think I was going to be pretend angry for having to feed you. But you brought me caffeine. You’re quickly winning me over, Grimshaw.”

Zayn shoved a tray into Louis’ hands. “Your friend Zayn paid, he just carried a tray. Don’t get too excited.”

Louis reached out to pinch his cheek. “Don’t be such a baby. Come on in, the lads are in the kitchen.” They shut the door, following Louis down the hall, greeting everyone when they entered with a small wave. “Hey boys.”

Niall perked up from the table, where he was stuffing his face with bacon. “Three days in a row, Grimmy, I’m starting to feel like one of the cool kids,”

Louis shot him a look. “Stop that, Niall, quite sure we won’t have any room in the kitchen if his head gets any bigger.”

“Better not eat any of that bacon, Tomlinson, or we’re going to have the same problem with your arse.”

Louis tipped an imaginary hat at Nick. “Touché.”

Harry stepped away from where he was cooking at the stove, his eyes lighting up when he saw the tray in Nick’s hand. “You brought me a Frappuccino!”

Nick shook his head as he walked it over to him. “Yes princess, I know you don’t like coffee.”

Niall pulled a face as he took another bite of bacon. “I don’t know how you can drink them things, Harry.”

“Oh it doesn’t surprise me at all that Harry is fond of creamy substances in his mouth, Niall,” Nick said as he slung an arm over Harry’s shoulders.

Niall giggled hysterically as Louis slapped Nick on the shoulder with a spatula. Zayn looked horrified. “Jesus Christ, Nick. Too early."

Liam walked into the kitchen looking wary. “Too early for what?”

Harry pouted as he started plating the food. “Too early to be making fun of Harry.”

Louis moved over to help him, taking trays of eggs, bacon and toast to the table. “Don’t fret babe, I think your Frappuccino fetish is endearing,” he looked up from behind the table, everything set and ready to go. “Shall we eat then?”

Everyone nodded, settling around the table, passing each other food until their plates were piled high. Louis pointed a fork at Zayn and Nick. “So, to what do we owe the honour of making this breakfast for?”

They passed a look between each other and Zayn took the lead. "Okay, well... we…decided to uh…start dating,”

Nick gave him a cheeky smile before adding his own commentary. “What he really means is we’re just making it formal. After all, we have been shagging for almost a year."

Harry looked like he was about to burst. “A year! How could you guys keep this from us for so long?!”

Liam chimed in too. “But…what about all the rumors? Nick, no offense, but you’re constantly linked to someone in the papers,”

Nick smiled warmly at him. “I cannot tell you how pleased that makes me that you think I can pull that many men. Sadly, it’s mostly because I work in the fashion industry, where everyone has supposedly shagged everyone. Just the way of the business. All smoke and mirrors mate, nothing to worry about,” he squeezed Zayn’s knee smiling at him once more. “Besides, I’ve got my own little model right here that you’ll be seeing in the papers come next week.”

They all looked confused, and Zayn cleared his throat to speak. “Ye,ah Nick asked me to come to Paris with him for fashion week…so…”

Niall seemed to be taking this all in and finally nodded to himself, picking up his mimosa to raise it towards them. “Good by me boys, I fucking love Grimmy. Cheers, mate.”

Nick toasted him back. “You are my very favorite Niall.”

Harry was practically bouncing out of his seat. “I just can’t believe I didn’t know about this! You have a much longer story to tell me one day, Nicholas. But in the meantime, I’m so happy for you guys!”

Louis started clearing the plates, smiling to himself as he listened to Harry’s energetic babbling. He stood at the sink washing off the plates when Zayn came up beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He leaned his head on his shoulder. “Thanks for talking some sense into us, Lou.”

Louis bumped their hips together. “It just so happens that I love you, Zayn Malik. So, Paris hey. You fancy huh?”

Zayn laughed, turning around to lean against the sink. “Yeah. Paris. With my boyfriend, Nick Grimshaw. Kind of surreal isn't it,” he watched Nick and Harry talking, and noticed that Harry was making sure to include Liam, laying a hand on his arm and giving him little smiles every now and then.

Louis shut off the sink, following Zayn’s eyes. His heart beat a little faster as he took in Harry’s profile, watching his dimple deepen with every throaty laugh, his eyes sparkling from the peek of sunlight hitting the kitchen window. “I’m going to marry him one day, Zayn.”

Zayn rubbed a hand along his back. “I know you are, Lou. I know you are.” Zayn noticed that Liam was trying to get his attention, gesturing to the living room with his head. He gave Louis a quick pat and left the kitchen, waiting for Liam to follow behind him.

He came in a few minutes later, running a hand through his hair. “So, I’m a fucking prick,”

Zayn raised his eyebrows, surprised by Liam’s cursing. He gave Zayn a weak smile. “I feel like I’m always apologizing to you lately. But frankly you deserve them. I never should have said what I did about Nick. I was out of line. Apparently I shouldn’t believe everything I read.”

“To be fair I actually believed some of it too. Nick is a charmer,” Zayn pursed his lips. “Sorry I kissed you last night. I…it was just something I needed to do.”

“It’s alright, Zayn. I understand. I’m sorry…for everything. For making you feel like you needed to do that…I didn’t realize…”

Zayn stepped closer to him, touching his forearm. “We don’t have to do this, Liam. I just want to get back to where we used to be. I want a fresh start. What do you think?”

Liam breathed out a sigh of relief. “I’d like that a lot.”

Niall popped his head through the entryway. “Hey, you ready to go, Liam?”

“Yep, I’ll be right there.” Niall grinned, giving Zayn a wave. “See ya buddy, take care of my favorite man." They could hear him whistling as the door shut behind him.

Zayn looked amused. “He’s taken quite the shining to Nick. See what I mean about him charming people?”

“It really is something.” Liam looked slightly impressed. “Well, I better get going, but maybe when you get back we could all grab dinner? Like with Nick I mean. I’d like to get to know him,”

Zayn grabbed him, squeezing him into a tight hug. “That would be brilliant, Liam.”

“Cool. Have fun in Paris. Do something silly and romantic that gets in the papers so I can brag to everyone I know that those are my friends.”

Zayn pushed him towards the front door. “You are ridiculous. Goodbye, Liam.”

He gave him one last hug before opening to door to leave. “Bye, Zayn.”

Zayn felt lighter than he had in a long time as walked back into the kitchen, where Louis and Harry were once again sharing a chair. Zayn didn’t even know why he was shocked anymore. “Why do you guys even own more than one chair, I swear you never use them,”

Louis glowered at him. “So that when my friends come over and mooch breakfast from me they have somewhere to sit.”

Zayn mumbled ‘wanker’ under his breath as he went to pull out a chair to sit next to Nick. Nick instead jumped up, stretching his arms. “Nope, it's not time for sitting. You’re going shopping with me,”

“I am?”

“Well, unless you want to stay here and watch these two get naked, which I’m almost positive is about to happen at any minute, then yes, you are.”

Harry smiled at them brightly. “He knows me too well.

Zayn gave them a disgusted look. “Seriously, what is wrong with you two?”

Louis motioned his thumb at Harry. “He’s the one with the nudity problem, not me.”

Nick walked over to Harry and Louis, enveloping them both in a hug. He kissed the tops of their heads, before walking over to Zayn and grabbing his hand. “Well whatever it is you’re into, we’ll leave you to it. Lovely breakfast lads, thanks again.”

Zayn gave in. “Alright, alright. Looks like I’m going shopping. Thanks guys, I’ll message you later.”

Harry waited until he heard the front door close; pushing Louis off him so he could pull his t shirt over his head. Louis folded his arms, watching the garment fall to the ground “Harry, are you kidding me,”

He looked up innocently as he started to unbutton his jeans. “What? I’ve been dressed for like 3 hours.”

Louis started to say something, but instead bit his lip to hide his smile, and thought to himself that he really wasn’t going to mind Harry wandering around naked for the rest of his life.

 ...

Nick and Zayn walked along hand in hand, stopping at the corner waiting for the streetlight to change. Zayn glanced up at him, “So what are we shopping for?”

“I think I’m going to need something fabulous for when I show off my boy toy in Paris,”

Zayn looked at him warily. “You aren’t going to keep saying boy toy are you?”

Nick pointed a finger at him. “I am. Now let’s go snog in Gucci.”

And when Zayn felt a tug in his heart he knew that yah, this was exactly how he was supposed to feel. And it was nice. 

 

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! I was really enjoying the Nick/Zayn pairing so much that I decided it needed to be the end game. Something about it feels so good :0
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed XOXO


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